Japan, ‘world’s most powerful passport’ ng Henley Index; PH nasa pang-75 pwesto

Ni Florenda Corpuz

Inungusan ng Japan sa unang pwesto ang Germany sa pagkakaroon ng travel freedom dahil sa visa-free access nito sa 180 bansa sa buong mundo, ito ay ayon sa Henley Passport Index.

Kapantay ng Japan sa unang pwesto ang Singapore.

Ayon sa Henley Passport Index 2018 na inilathala noong nakaraang buwan, nalipat sa pangalawang pwesto ang Germany matapos itong maghari sa loob ng nakalipas na limang taon, sa pagkakaroon nito ng visa-free access sa 179 destinasyon.

“Japan and Singapore rose to the top of the index after, among other developments, Uzbekistan lifted visa requirements for Japanese and Singaporean nationals in early February. Uzbekistan’s efforts to increase tourist inflows saw a number of other countries in Asia and the Middle East (including Turkey, Indonesia, and Israel) gaining access,” saad sa website ng Henley & Partners, isang law firm.

Sinabi naman ni Dr. Parag Khanna, Senior Fellow sa Centre on Asia and Globalisation sa National University of Singapore na patuloy na lumalago ang kapangyarihan ng mga bansa sa Asya.

“It is perhaps long overdue that wealthy Asian states such as Singapore and Japan would equal and now even exceed Germany’s ranking among the world’s most powerful passports,” aniya. “These two states in particular are identified as peaceful commercial powers, with their citizens interested primarily in business and investment activities.”

“For its part, Japan has long been one of the world’s leading capital exporters, and this role has grown in the wake of ‘Abenomics,’ the set of economic policies implemented by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the outset of his second term. Singapore, which has long been the portal for investment into Southeast Asia, is now also the major conduit for outbound Asian investment as well,” dagdag pa niya.

Nasa ikalimang pwesto ang Japan noong nakaraang taon na may visa-free access sa 172 bansa.

Kabilang naman sa top 10 ngayong taon ang mga sumusunod: Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Sweden, Spain, South Korea na may visa-free access sa 178 na bansa; Norway, United Kingdom, Austria, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal - 177; Switzerland, Ireland, United States, Canada -176; Belgium, Australia, Greece - 174; New Zealand, Czech Republic, Malta - 173; Iceland -172; Hungary - 171; at Latvia -  170.

Ang Pilipinas naman ay nasa pang-75 pwesto kasama ang mga bansang Cuba, Cape Verde Islands at Azerbaijan na may visa-free access sa 63 bansa.

Huli naman sa listahan ang Afghanistan na may visa-free access sa 24 na bansa.

Ang Henley Passport Index ay base sa eksklusibong datos ng International Air Transport Association (IATA) na may hawak ng pinakamalaki at pinakatiyak na database ng travel information ng buong mundo.